Good vision equals lifeline, so overdoing it is just right.
“Anyway, that’s why it’s ‘Separation’ and [contact]. But I might need to pay the price of Umbra with Kushina here, so please take care of us.”
“No problem.”
Yuika replied with a skilled lie that could be taken as either “I refuse” or “don’t worry about it.”
Impressed by her skill, I added,
“Well, I doubt it’ll be as intense as today.”
“Really…”
“Thanks for always helping me.”
“Humph, what a bother.”
Kushina pouted and turned her face away abruptly.
But then, something crossed her mind, and she glanced over at Yuika.
She noticed Yuika was staring intently at her, causing her to flinch.
…Hmm.
“Could it be that your power is ‘seeing through lies,’ Yuika?”
“Wow, you’re way off!”
Yeah, I was right on the mark.
Yuika’s curse, Umbra, was [can only lie], meaning [can’t tell the truth].
Her talent, Lux, was the opposite; it seemed she could see lies.
“Just as I thought.”
“—Hey, wait a minute! How did you figure that out?”
“Who knows?”
“I-I’m not lying…!”
“Yuika.”
“I’m telling the truth!”
“She’s lying, right?”
“It’s not a lie…!”
We were having a conversation where it was impossible to tell what was true or false.
In the middle of our noisy banter in the cafe,
—Ring, ring.
A new customer entered, accompanied by the sound of the doorbell.
“Sorry to intrude.”
The customer was a large adult male.
A male customer was rare enough, but one with such a strong build was even rarer.
Men in this world were generally quite frail.
What was important was the man’s identity.
After all, the cafe was currently displaying a “closed” sign.
If he didn’t come in by mistake, there was only one answer.
“Oh, it’s Truth and Setsuna.”
He was a member of the [Nega-Messiah].
He called Yuika and Kushina by their code names, so it was certain.
Herein lies a problem.
Just because someone is in the same organization doesn’t necessarily make them an ally.
The [Nega-Messiah] claims to stand for “helping the weak.”
Terrorists often use this convenient excuse, but more people join in this world than in my previous life.
The reason is simple: the existence of Lux.
The strength or weakness of Lux and the extent of Umbra’s curses create socially weak positions.
Yuika, who can only lie, is a prime example.
That’s why there are many men in our organization who are often treated unfairly.
While we do gather many people, they’re all dissatisfied with reality.
Frankly speaking, it creates poor security.
Not everyone is bad, but there’s no doubt that there are a lot of bad ones.
So, when this guy comes over so casually,
“………”
“………”
Kushina and Yuika’s expressions immediately turned stern.
Kushina, my childhood friend who never shows any friendliness, was one thing.
But even the shop owner, who had just been smiling warmly, was now stone-faced. It was clear what kind of person this man was.
“Hey, I heard there was an unusual customer—this guy?”
The man came over to our table and started talking without caring about the atmosphere.
The topic seemed to be me.
Kushina shrugged.
“Who knows, lots of customers come here.”
“Don’t play dumb. It’s the guy you brought in two years ago but never showed his face.”
“………”
“Right? Newbie?”
Wow, he’s looking at me with a blatantly evil grin. I just realized it now, seeing his face up close.
—This guy is the real enemy who got beaten by my Oshi Hinata-chan in the third volume of [WataYume]!
The enemy of my Oshi is my enemy! Though I can’t really talk about others.
“The guy Kushina brought in two years ago but never showed his face, who are you anyway?”
I retorted, meeting his intimidating gaze head-on.
Yuika looked surprised.
Maybe it’s because I usually act silly when I come to this cafe with Kushina.
The big guy seemed just as taken aback.
He showed a similar expression to Yuika’s.
“Me? I’m Goki the Mighty. Nice to meet you.”
Not nice to meet you at all.
“I thought a guy who hid behind a woman for two years would be a coward, but you’ve got some guts.”
He’s not such a bad guy after all.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
“So? Why is a man like you under a woman’s command?”
He is an enemy, after all. Trying to deceive me.
“Setsuna brought you in, but that doesn’t matter. Join my team.”
“Team?”
“Yeah, we don’t need the power of a woman. A team of just men.”
Does he really need to add “just” or “only” after every mention of women…?
Ridiculous… Let’s just turn him down and—
“Ridiculous.”
I thought I spoke my mind, but it was Kushina who said it.
As expected of my childhood friend. We’re on the same wavelength.
“Huh? What did you say—”
“Shut up.”
In an instant.
A knife was pointed right in front of Goki’s eyes.
Kushina, who had been sitting next to me, was now standing beside the huge man.
A quick glance at the table showed a knife was missing from the cutlery.
I couldn’t see her movement from standing up to standing there, almost as if she had skipped the process entirely.
The intimidation radiating from Kushina along with the supernatural phenomenon made Goki shut up.
“I’ll let you go for now because it’s troublesome.”
He seemed to understand what would happen if he didn’t back down now.
“…Tch.”
After a long silence, he clicked his tongue and took a step back.
“Maybe it’s too soon. …I’ll be back, newbie.”
And with those parting words, he left the store.
A tense atmosphere lingered in the air.
For now,
“Yuika, your code name is ‘Truth,’ right?”
“That’s wrong~ (That’s right~).”
“That’s not the point!”
Though Yuika and I started chatting casually, Kushina’s angry voice interrupted from the side.
“What’s up?”
“Aren’t you too carefree? We’ve caught the eye of a troublesome guy. Be careful from now on—”
“Kushina will protect me, right? Thanks as always.”
“…ugh, you know.”
“Oh, she’s blushing.”
“I’m not blushing!”
“Yuika.”
“I’m telling the truth!”
“It’s not a lie!”
Kushina turned away, flustered, and went back to her seat.
She looked at me as if she were looking at someone who lacked a sense of danger.
“Anyway, just be careful when I’m not around…!”
I knew she’d get mad if I said it meant she’d protect me when she was around.
So I just nodded silently with a big smile.
“Oh, right.”
Just when I thought the conversation was over, Kushina remembered something and spoke up.
“The next mission is tomorrow.”
“Okay…—Tomorrow!?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded without thinking, but this was strange.
Just as casually as Kushina, Yuika was pouring herself a new cafe latte.
“Isn’t the schedule too tight?”
“Usually, yes. But it has to be tomorrow. The mission is to rescue a prisoner being transported tomorrow.”
Kushina continued, stirring honey into her cafe latte with one hand.
“An executive who got captured is being transported, so we’re going to attack and take him back.”
“Wait, there’s an executive captured?”
Another shock hit me.
Kushina frowned, clearly displeased.
“That idiot gets caught often.”
“Gets caught often…?”
Suddenly, it seemed less important.
“If the transport date is set for tomorrow, wouldn’t it have been better not to attack today?”
“If we attack the transport, security around the facilities will be heightened for a while, right?”
“It’s the same in reverse.”
“That’s fine.”
In the end, if both happen soon, only one difficulty will increase.
It seemed like a very reasonable opinion, but Executive Kushina’s view was different.
“Because—if we free the captured idiot, he’ll definitely escape.”
She smiled meaningfully and took a sip of her sweet cafe latte.
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